Essentially, when Brendan Shanahan signed up, Prucha's power play time disappeared, like his quick release and excellent touch. If that was our imagination that the kid could find the net, then the Garden was suffering mass hysteria. Last season, despite only a smattering of time with the man advantage, Prucha scored 22 goals, but still has lost his lineup place to rookie Ryan Callahan.

"I've liked the lines [Prucha] has been on this year," said Renney. "I like the combination of [Prucha], [Chris] Drury and Callahan.

"You say to yourself, 'Next year or the year after, this makes sense.' Bottom line is I think we have a real important player here. And I can't argue that he wouldn't immediately help our power play.

So, he'd help, and you like the lines he's played on, but you've been avoiding him entirely? Coach should be honest here, and say he's just wanted to stick with what works, and Prucha is really a victim of the team's hot streak without him in the lineup.

When Nigel Dawes faked to his forehand and slid the game-winning goal between the pads of the Devils' Martin Brodeur in a shootout last week, the incredulity on Brodeur's face could be seen through his mask. In a Rangers lineup full of big names and dangerous scorers, Brodeur suffered the indignity of having a 5-foot-9 rookie beat him for the victory. Later, Brodeur brushed it off as a lucky shot.

Dawes heard about Brodeur's comments and just smiled. It could hardly dim his mood. Since the beginning of the season, Dawes has climbed from the minors to install himself on the Rangers' second line and become, Brodeur's opinion notwithstanding, its best shootout scorer.

All Rangers fans wanted to see Dawes, the fifth round pick, succeed, and it's gratifying to see him already paying dividends. (We all wanted to see Callahan and Dubinsky succeed too, not to leave them in the dark. We'd been pining for the rookies for years).

As for the team itself, Blueshirt Bulletin noted that by next week, the Rangers will hold a lot of its playoff destiny in its own hands, as they'll have one or two games in hand on just about all the Eastern Conference playoff teams. That'll be a nice advantage -- it's sort of like going second in the final round of all those old game shows -- you know where you stand, so you can tailor your style accordingly. Bad analogy, we know, but it's Monday.